Canadian venture capital investments hit a record in the first quarter of 2016, with Atlantic Canada holding its own in early investments but missing out on the late-stage deals that drove the market.

Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, known as CVCA, today issued its quarterly data on VC investments in Canada, saying that first-quarter VC investment hit $838 million –

Goalline, the Halifax company that provides websites to youth sports leagues, has been bought Blue Star Sports for an undisclosed price, and together they plan to develop an integrated technology platform for minor sports.

Though no terms were revealed, this may be the largest tech deal in the region in a few years given Goalline’s vast reach and the massive capital backing the merged company.

CarbonCure Technologies, which makes green construction materials, has received an additional $1.75 million investment from Vancouver-based Pangaea Ventures, increasing the company’s valuation.

Founder and CEO Robert Niven said in an interview that Pangaea made the investment by exercising an option it took when it led CarbonCure’s last $3 million round of investment. The Vancouver VC fund,

Kristy O’Leary is leaving Nova Scotia, and her departure means more than the loss of another talented Bluenoser.

A few years ago, O’Leary co-founded Scout & Burrow, a Halifax consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses improve their social and environmental standards. She found it a tough slog. Scout & Burrow has folded, and O’Leary is moving to Vancouver to become a senior consult with

Our Job of the Week feature today is highlighting a business-oriented position in St. John’s with the developer of a social media marketing solution, HeyOrca!

HeyOrca! helps marketing agencies working with multiple brands develop social media campaigns for their clients. HeyOrca! also works directly with larger corporate brands to develop content for their social media campaigns. In the words of

With mental health problems among entrepreneurs even greater than among the general population, a new study is asking founders to fill in a survey with the aim of creating solutions.

The Mindset Project is the work of Halifax-based Michael DeVenney, a chartered financial analyst, entrepreneur and consultant, and a long-time sufferer of mental illness.

DeVenney intends to analyze the survey data

Something interesting happened in the startup world in April that deserves more attention than it received: a Startup Weekend was held April 1 to 3 in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

It was the first Startup Weekend in the western Newfoundland community of about 20,000 people and it represents a big step forward in the efforts by several groups to expand the city’s entrepreneurial community.

With

Reno Sub-Systems Inc. has received US$14 million (C$18.1 million) in a Series B funding round led by strategic investor MKS Instruments Inc. of Andover, Mass.

Reno, which has developed new and disruptive technologies for the semiconductor and advanced microelectronic industries, originated in Bedford, though it is now headquartered in the U.S.

The company said in a statement Tuesday that as well as a US$9.3 million investment from MKS, the participants in the latest funding round include previous investor Intel Capital and an undisclosed strategic investor.

 “We are pleased that MKS has

IBM has selected the University of New Brunswick as one of eight universities in North America to help adapt its iconic Watson cognitive technology for use in cybersecurity.

The blue-chip tech company and university announced the partnership on Tuesday. Under the agreement, computer science students at UNB and the other universities will help Watson process and analyze massive amounts of

Eyeread Accepted into Google for Entrepreneurs

Halifax-based Eyeread, whose online product helps to teach children to read, has been accepted into the Google for Entrepreneurs program at Communitech in Kitchener.

“A six-month incubator with senior Google team members in Waterloo will allow us to get expert feedback on the Eyeread technology over the summer and fall,” said Co-Founder Julia